The Golden Age of Contracts
This is the period following the first clear demonstration of magic's power as revealed by the rise of Azitiel, (sometimes called the Assassin or the Demon King of Sartellia). During this age magic is introduced to the world. Magic advances rapidly as wizards start to sign contracts and explore their limits. The world is changing so drastically that many facts from this era are in dispute, including debates over the identity of key players and the reality of certain events. See, in particular, The Legend of Kal Vorgis . Pre-Golden Age Scholars now agree that the Golden Age began shortly after the signing of the original Three Contracts by Teronovious, Sir William Gaust, and Liam Cordyr. Traditional teaching long held Teronovious as the sole Founder, but the First Academy cache discovered by Dr. Merrick seems to settle definitively that Gaust and Cordyr deserve to be considered co-founders. The Three Fathers signed their individual contracts apparently in order to overthrow of KIng Edorik of Sartellia, who had pulled state patronage from the Performing Arts School of Sartellia. Lord Teronovious then backed an up-and-comer in politics known as Azitiel. (Only later do scholars begin to suspect that he might be the original demon summoned by Teronovious's contract.) Following the war, Teronovious founds the First Academy of Magic to bear his name (which is sometimes considered an outgrowth of his previous work as the head of the Illusions Department of the Sartellian Performing Arts school, where he, Gaust, and Cordyr did their first research into contractual demonology). He also purportedly led the King's personal guard, known as the Enforcers. They were deemed the most cunning and effective of Lord Azitiel's many agents. Sir William Gaust made a name for himself in the Great War as a knight of a new brand. He is given credit for creating the Knights of Sartellia as we know them today. Their honor code, as well as the creed of Tellence has been traced to his pen. He retired to a professorship at the First Academy of Teronovious where he died at age 50. Liam Cordyr worked under Teronovious, and far less survives of his history following the war. He is sometimes attributed as the author (notably by the Coreiian School) of a number of great works of fiction from the era, most famously the story of Kal Vorgis. The Coreiians note that he disappears from recorded history around the time the earliest Kal Vorgis manuscript appears, and that it matches the writing style of his earlier work. There is much uncertainty about the earliest period of magic use, and for that reason the Golden Age of Contracts is not considered to have started until after the death of one founder (Gaust), and the disappearance of another (Cordyr). It normally is dated after the year 3098 AK. The Kingdom of Lord Azitiel of Sartellia Sartellia was ruled by Lord Azitiel from 3078Ak to (???) He took over the the crown of King Edorik the First by enlisting the help of the Three Founders. The four of them led a three year campaign known as The War of Kings. The war was followed by a period of uncontested rule that spanned hundreds of years. It is accepted by most historians today that Azitiel was, in fact, a demon, and moreover the first summoned demon, created by Master Teronovious. Azitiel's rule is considered the start of the Golden Age, despite his despotic rule and the iron fist with which he thwarted most deviation from Teronovian teachings. Though it should be noted that after the death of Teronovious, he took an approach of benevolent disinterest toward the unconventional work of Shae and Freyna, the Sartellian Witches, and even appointed them to advisory positions after the fall of the Academy. But in the earliest days of Azitiel's reign, Teronovious, as head of the Academy, dictated how and under what conditions magical contracts could be signed. And in the "Ligatur autem dæmonia," he established an orthodoxy of demon contracts. Azitiel's spy network, known as the Enforcers, were inescapable. They invented a variety of monitoring techniques to make sure that all rules were followed and that every element was controlled (techniques that would be rediscovered by King Muerto's Third Academy of Teronovious). Despite Azitiel's mostly draconian influence, Sartellia (and the world) prospered as magic made many peoples' lives easier. Labor-saving devices relieved much distress, and travel to (and trade with) far-away nations became possible for the first time in the Age of Kings. The Rise of the Sartellian Witches Willem conquers Sartellia Soren the First and the Sartellian Pax The Second Academy The Death of Soren and the Rise of Muerto